An exciting day for staff and pupils...the wait was finally over as we got to meet Sister Rose and Santhi today. One of our Governors - Mrs Fox arrived with them just in time for playtime. Children were eager to introduce themselves and enthusiastic to show both teachers what they do during playtime. 

After playtime they visited the Lanterns for Literacy and enjoyed a 'Big Write'. Santhi took the opportunity to show us the handwriting they teach to pupils in Pondicherry. The children loved spotting the letters that looked similar to ours and were astonished at how 'swirly' the 'f' and 'z' were. The Sparklers modelled how they learn and use their sounds using 'Fred Fingers' in a Letters and Sounds lesson. Spelling is incredibly important in Indian Schools - we impressed our visitors with the sounds we use to write words. 

After a delicious lunch cooked by our hard-working catering team, Sister Rose and Santhi joined a Year 1 class for a Victorian afternoon - complete with traditional dress! (see photos in latest news). The children demonstrated their examplar behaviour for fear of having their name written in the 'Punishment Book' or standing in the corner wearing the 'Dunce's cap!' A thoroughly 'enjoyable' lesson that demonstrated the type of subjects that were taught in the Victorian days. 

Sister Rose and Santhi then spent some time in the MLD Unit and enjoyed getting to know the children who were completing art work inspired from India.  Following this, they moved into the Forest School area to see for themselves how we develop childrens love for the outdoors.

To conclude the school afternoon, Year 1 had a Question and Answer session on the back patio to find out more about our visitors and their School and home country. There were some truly thoughtful questions. We treated Sister Rose and Santhi to two songs and in return were 'wowed' by Santhi's song about the sun shining...they even taught us a quick game before home time.

What better way to end their first day with us than to invite them to a Staff Meeting! Everyone was formally introduced and our visitors were given a 'Westfield Welcome.'